Chojinkai karate Carlisle/Brampton

13/09/2026

Great turnout for our Association Senior Training Course, covering all aspects of our curriculum.

Two-hour training session led by Doug James 9th Dan, Ray Hind 7th Dan, Darren Longstaff 6th Dan & Mark Heaton 6th Dan, followed by the Brown Belt gradings.

Massive well done to Lily Dixon & Sophia Hammond – 3rd Kyu, Matthew Warren & Harry Clarkson – 2nd Kyu, and Martin S – 1st Kyu on successfully completing their gradings. 🥋👏

11/09/2026

Well done to Alice, who picked up her Student of the Month trophy tonight at Warwick Bridge.

Alice has been really consistent over the summer, working hard every week and putting a lot of effort into her training. She’s also been on a few of the summer camps, where she’s continued to put the work in.

That consistency and effort has stood out this month, so well deserved.

Well done, Alice. 👊🥋

10/09/2026

After almost 30 years in martial arts not just karate, but training across different disciplines and working on the doors over a 15 year period where violence was inevitable I fast realised there was a big gap between the dojo and reality.

There’s a lot more to effective self-defence than techniques.

Most people don’t actually know what they’re looking for. They don’t know the signs, the indicators, or how to recognise when a situation is starting to change.

If I was teaching you road safety, I wouldn’t start by teaching you how to roll over the bonnet of a car. I’d teach you what to look for, how to recognise what’s coming and how to position yourself to avoid it.

Self-defence is no different.

Yes, we’ll deal with what happens if things go wrong, but the aim is to see it developing early enough to avoid it, position yourself with an advantage, and know when to take that advantage.

I’ll give you practical drills and things to take away that you can incorporate into everyday life to improve these skills without becoming paranoid or constantly looking for trouble.

Because if you can see what’s developing, you have options.

Avoid it. Position yourself better. And if you have to act, take the initiative and deal with it.

06/09/2026

🥋 ARE YOU READY TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF? 🏆

The 51st Chojinkai Cup Championships takes place on Sunday 11 October 2026, from 10am–3pm at Penrith Leisure Centre.

Whether it’s your first competition or you’ve competed before, this is a great opportunity to test yourself, push your limits and put your training into practice.

It’s not just about winning medals. Competition is a chance to build confidence, learn from the experience, support your club mates and see how you perform under pressure. Most importantly, give it your best and enjoy the experience! 💪

The competition is open to all ages and grades, including Little Dragons (minimum Red Tag), with categories including:

🥋 Basics & Kickmaster
🥋 Individual Kata
🥋 Individual Kumite (fighting)
🥋 Team Kata & Team Kumite (teams will be organised and submitted by the club instructors)

💷 £15 per person, including all eligible categories.

📅 Entries close Sunday 4 October, please get your entry in early!

👉 Ready to give it a go? Enter online here: https://www.kihapp.com/27493/s/3d3339a

If you’re unable to enter online, speak to one of the instructors and get an entry flyer/slip in class.

October 11, 2026. Little Dragons - Basics, Little Dragons - Kick Master, Little Dragons - Kumite, Little Dragons - Tag, Basics and more. Powered by Kihapp.

05/09/2026

I’ve noticed a lot of kids heading off to new schools or starting secondary school this year. It can be a bit daunting for some of them.

If anyone’s struggling with it, just let me know. Don’t feel awkward about getting in touch.

We’ve got loads of students in different years and at lots of different schools, including some of our junior instructors. Sometimes just knowing someone there, or knowing a few of the kids already, can make a massive difference.

So if they’re struggling with anything, just give me a shout. I’m sure we can help in some way. 👍

04/09/2026

🥋 What a busy week at Karate!

I wasn’t sure this week whether everyone would be back, being the first week back at school and everyone getting back into their routines.

But it’s been busy!

Over 120 on Wednesday and around 100 tonight at Warwick Bridge. It does show that everyone’s getting back into the routine.

Super busy night tonight. Well done everybody! 🥋👊

02/09/2026

Busy one at Brampton 👍

Thanks to sensei Doug James for his senior session tonight 🥋

31/08/2026

Really surprised at how busy tonight was across all the classes, especially with it being a Bank Holiday and the school holidays.

Really good turnout and some good effort from everyone, so well done. 🥋

Also, just a reminder to any of our new members, make sure you join the Chojinkai Karate Private Group on Facebook.

There’s quite a bit more on there about what we do, and there’s also videos of some of the instructors training.

I’ve always found it inspiring seeing instructors actually training themselves. I think it’s really important that instructors lead by example. We shouldn’t just be standing at the front telling everyone else what to do — we should be doing it ourselves as well.

So have a look through the private group and check out some of the training videos. There’s some good stuff on there and it gives you a bit more of an insight into what we’re about at Chojinkai.

30/08/2026

🥋 Bank Holiday Monday

Just a reminder that all classes are running as normal on Monday, so make the most of the extra training!

Seniors, Purple Belt and above who are interested in grading in September, please make your intention known to me.

Sensei Doug James, 9th Dan, will be at Brampton this Wednesday, 8–9pm, to help with the pre-grading assessments and give some feedback.

If grading is your goal, please make sure you attend as many sessions as possible between now and then, with myself & Ray
Grading is fast approaching! 👊🥋